MACKIE FinalMix VST User Manual

Page 15

User’s Guide

Expansion occurs when the amplitude of the output increases faster than the amplitude

of the input. Compression, on the other hand, occurs when the amplitude of the output in-

creases slower than the amplitude of the input. Final Mix allows expansion or compression

above the threshold. Expansion can be used to increase the volume of quiet passages and

bring a little bit more "life" into a performance. Note that each individual segment can be

set as either a compressor, an expander, or both. Having expansion for low input signals and

compression for higher signals is a good way to level out a signal's dynamics. Quiet signals

become louder and louder signals become quieter. We see an example of this below. For input

signals below node 2 in amplitude (approximately –28 dB), the dynamics processor acts as

an expander. For signals above node 2, the processor is a compressor. See the "Node Editing"

section on page 16 to find out more about how to set up these kinds of contours.

Expansion and compression together to “level” a signal

Band View/Edit

One dynamics band can be edited at a time from the contour screen. However, individual

bands can be quickly accessed by choosing a band from the BAND VIEW/EDIT radio buttons

found at the top of the contour edit section.

Note: If you press the ‘LINK ALL’ button, located just to the right of the

dynamics graph, all three bands are affected at once.

Gain Makeup and Auto Makeup

Gain Makeup is used to make up for volume that has been decreased due to compression.

The Gain Makeup window ranges from –15 dB to +15 dB and can be adjusted with a mouse

to scroll the values up or down. This control can also be accessed from the window labeled

as GAIN found in the Dynamics overview. You can also apply attenuation using this control.

This is represented by a negative value (i.e., –3.0 dB).

When the AUTO MAKEUP button is in, Final Mix automatically chooses an appropriate makeup

gain for you. This makeup gain is based on your dynamics contour. You can still use the ‘manu-

al’ gain makeup control in this case. It merely adds to the makeup gain automatically applied.

When you first push the AUTO MAKEUP button in, Final Mix adjusts your makeup gain param-

eter so that the volume does not suddenly jump up. This is hearing (and speaker) protection!

Attack and Release

The attack parameter specifies how quickly gain reduction (or expansion) occurs at the at-

tack, or beginning, of a signal. Release controls how quickly gain reduction backs off when

the signal drops back down. The time is measured in milliseconds and corresponds to the

length of time it takes to achieve a fixed amount of compression (or expansion).